kicking summer blue bang
source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

Welcome everyone, to a holiday weekend edition of SmackDown in a Nutshell! And, with that in mind, we are hopefully kicking off summer with a blue bang!

OK, it’s the unofficial start of summer, as we in the United States celebrate Memorial Day. But, it is when we all get to kicking off summer, so why not with a blue brand bang?

It should be an interesting SmackDown as we are kicking off summer, at least unofficially.

The main attraction-and main event-is likely the six man tag where we don’t yet know that New Day will tag with Drew McIntyre.

I’m sorry, I mean a mystery partner.

On top of that, what’s next for The Usos, now that they own all the tag team gold?

Will we finally find out what Roman Reigns might do inside Hell In A Cell…if anything?

So, there is no time like the present, let’s dive right into…

SmackDown In A Nutshell: Kicking Off Summer With A Blue Bang’

Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see what happens.

Best Match of the night:

kicking summer blue bang

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

The main event. New Day + Drew McIntyre, taking on the trio of the Brawling Brutes was a solid main event.

I also liked Usos versus Riddle and Nakamura, though that was basically a tease.

Worst match of the night:

Putting the team of Jinder Mahal and Shanky up against Los Lotharios was just bound to fail.

I mean…both teams are heels.

Crowd Chants of the Night:

Shanky

Star of the Night

Right up front, I admit this may seem to be pandering…but I don’t care.

The star of the night for this night? Anyone who served, and paid the ultimate price. As we talk about kicking off the summer with a blue bang, none of that is possible without our brave men and women in the armed forces.

And specifically, those in our armed forces who did not come home.

It is too easy to lose sight of exactly what Memorial Day is all about, and while there may have been some good performances on SmackDown…none compares to those performances that allow us to enjoy SmackDown.

Spot of the Night:

Nothing.

Jobber of the Night:

The ring crew responsible for clearing the ring of the KO Show stuff. Owens had to stun someone, right?

Upset of the Night:

No upsets in the cards this week.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

Not much really.

Like, if you spotted one that make you say that…let me know.

The show was good, but it was pretty much as expected. There was the one curve of Riddle teaming with Shinsuke, but that wasn’t incredibly big.

kicking summer blue bang

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

They could have gone big and not done Drew as the mystery man, and it probably would have landed here.

However, as soon as it was clear that Xavier and Kofi would need a 3rd for this week, it was pretty much expected to be McIntyre.

Botch of the night:

Nothing

Commentary of the night:

McAfee is the best…line of the night: “I ran in to Max Dupri…one Knight in LA…”

LOL Moment of the night:

Aliyah locking Shotzi in the locker room suffices, I guess.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

Or this…

Though, perhaps the best was Max Dupri telling Adam Pearce that he couldn’t make the cut to be one of his first Maximum Male Models.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

Noteworthy Moment:

Riddle is now tagging with Shinsuke Nakamura…or at least is temporarily. And, per Riddle, it was Randy’s idea.

Of course…this is what is going on with Randy…

Overall lowlights:

I think my single gripe for the night is that the chances for surprises were squandered.

Meaning, you knew we would have a surprise partner joining New Day. Given their opponents, Drew McIntyre was the easy guess.

source: @wwe, twitter, screenshot

But…there were other Superstars, so it could have been more interesting.

Even the Nakamura/Riddle pairing, though that was at least storyline approved by Orton.

Overall highlights:

While I did complain that the “surprises” were lukewarm, I will go at it a different way here.

Maybe they played them safe…but WWE played to the crowds. Could we have seen someone else paired with Nakamura?

Absolutely.

I mean…HERE would have been a superbly hilarious time to bring out Elias, with the guitar, as like, Boogs unplugged.

One I didn’t hype much elsewhere? Max Dupri…while I hate the re-re-name…whatever you call him, he is money and I look forward to seeing him shine.

And we could have seen anyone else but Drew in that spot…but he popped the crowd, so there you have it.

Like, even though I wanted a really unexpected surprise (Gargano?), playing it safe and giving fans what they want is smart too.

Otherwise, it was a solid if unspectacular show.

After the final bell:

All in all, not a bad show.

Not sure if it was truly kicking off summer with a blue bang, but it’s over and done with.

Monday on RAW could be interesting and should be a bigger deal, being the go home show for Hell In A Cell.

For now, one more thanks to all our veterans who have served, and for all in our Armed Services who are now.

Have a safe holiday weekend everyone!

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